


Be Careful What You Wish For

by AnnaCipactli12



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, The White Princess (TV), The White Queen (TV)
Genre: Angst, Betrayal, Gen, Love, Lust, Prophecy, Sense of Loss, curse backfiring
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-27
Updated: 2017-05-09
Packaged: 2018-10-24 14:02:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10743159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnaCipactli12/pseuds/AnnaCipactli12
Summary: There is so much that being King can bring you. It can't bring you love when your wife is committed to hate you. It can't bring you children when your wife and her mother's vindictive ancestor is determined they all die but one thing it can bring you is a stronger sorceress who with the help of the Sith can make all your dreams come true.





	1. Death in the family

**(Cecily of York POV)**

_**"Love in its purest form is deprived of want. It begs for nothing. It is both humble and true. But we mortals are impure beings. In truth, we are luminous beings, not this crude matter. Yet, as long as we are prisoners in this plane of existence, we will never be free of hatred, lust and the most horrible sin of all: envy."** _

_**~The Bendu Coddex** _

One thing I learned from when I was being housed at Westminster at the mercy of the Abbot despite my mother’s ill temper was that you reap what you sow. My sister, the whore has bedded Richard III without knowing that I have the power to destroy the little babe that resides in her womb. And my mother, well my mother doesn’t know the sad, cruel truth.

“Send him back? He’d just obey? Go, would he? Find a peasant wife in Flanders, realize that’s what he wanted all along! Maybe take up embroidery!”

“No, you are absolutely right. He would not but maybe, just maybe I can convince him to bend the knee. He doesn’t love his mother. The two of them haven’t had the good fortune-“

“Good fortune! The woman is a bloody nobody! We descend from the gods, she is a bastard born from a bastard line and her son an usurper. You do not owe her nothing and if you had taken my advice, that baby bump would be gone.”

Oh dear mother you have no way of knowing what I have up my sleeve. I smiled and told them that perhaps I could help. They smile. Lizzie dismisses me while my mother laughs and calls me a whore. “You want to spread your legs because you think your father never cared about you but look at you. The rump of the litter. Henry barely looks at you. Now get out. The grown ups are speaking.”

I pretend to cry while they continue to laugh and then go back to quarrel. As soon as I am out I smile.

Standing outside Lizzie’s chambers is none other than Darth Sidious. He hides his disfigurements behind an illusion that he learned long ago from his dark master, Darth Plagueis.

“You want to be Queen don’t you? And they said no. I told you that the closer you stuck with your mother, the more they’d treat you like a common fool.”

“You were right but I don’t want to be Queen any longer.” He blinked, taken aback by the hatred in my voice and I was sure, in my face. The two of us walked the halls of Richmond Palace. It used to be called Sheen but Henry Tudor has remodeled it, intending to make it the grandest palace in the British Isles. “I want my sister to remain his Queen and I to be by his side, guiding his hand and directing everything he does and I want my sister to bow before me.”

“You want to be a whore.”

“Not just any whore. Wives are their husbands' slaves. They can't do as they please. A Mistress is free to go where and do what she wants and regardless of what she says, she will always have the keys to the King’s heart.”

Sidious smiled. “You earthlings are smarter than the Old Republic gave you credit for. You will need to work in the shadows. Darkness will become your ally, use your mother’s curses to convince Henry that you and only you can break them. You are the most powerful witch in her littler, she will realize the error of her ways too late. You must be sure that this is what you want.”

“It is what I want. It is the only thing I want.” I say with conviction. To humiliate Lizzie and cast my mother off from her high horse will bring me more joy than seeing them with a head shorter.

“Lady Margaret will not want to see her son favoring his sister-in-law, even if she is from the House of York. The people will not stand for it.”

“My sister is an idiot who thinks that pleasing others and her sharp tongue with her husband in private will guarantee her success. A crown can only get you so far. It is far that makes others rule successfully. It is fear that keeps the peace alive. But you already know that, don’t you Chancellor?”

The Chancellor grinned. “When the Earth is ready, I will ensure that you shall be rewarded as will your offspring.”

It didn’t take long for Henry to notice me. I was hiding -as I always do- behind one of the tapestries, being inconsequential as ever when Henry begged (yes, the mighty dragon king was begging that ungrateful wife of his) to work together.

“If we could work together, we could be a King for England. But you hate me, and always will.” He left, Lizzie was in tears. It was then when she noticed me or rather … I let myself be noticed.

“How much did you hear? Does it bring joy to know that my marriage is on the rocks? That the man I could love is heartbroken because of me.”

“You caused him that pain sister. You have no one else to blame but yourself.” I say looking down at my feet. If I must have Henry, I will be as submissive and quiet as a royal wife ought to be. Silence will be my strength and my body, when it is his, will be my shield.

“How can you be so cold?”

“Me? How can you be so cold? He has been in exile for nearly fifteen years. He was hunted by our father. Forced to abandon his native land because he was the last scion of Lancaster, or at least that is what he was shoved down his throat by his mother.”

“You hate Lady Margaret, too? Why are you doing this? If you want him so much then you can have him. Take him for all I care because he won’t be sitting on the throne for so long. If it is a hollow crown you want then be my guest.”

“Thank you dear sister, I will take you on your offer.” I say, giving her the most noble smile. I can sense Henry is about to enter the throne room, worried that he was too harsh on my sister. And he couldn’t come at a more perfect time because the minute he arrives and starts saying how sorry he is, Lizzie’s face is on my cheek. Her ring of state having graced my left cheek, drawing blood from it.

“My lord, I mean Your Majesty. I am so sorry. I shouldn’t have come. I came to see if you need anything. Please I beg of you, do not misinterpret this. It was my fault. I should have come at a better time.”

“No, fair Cecily do not cry. The fault is all mine.”

I could sense Lizzie’s anger and pain. It was sweet to behold when she walked to him and told him that she had considered her words but Henry no longer had any use for her -or my mother for that matter.

It took him less than two months after that incident for him to call for me after Lizzie entered confinement. He was tired of waiting and especially tired of listening to that old hag Margaret.

He wanted to be his own man and if there was one thing I learned from Sidious was that men like him are not so hard to figure out. All you need is a little patience, something my sister lacks and my mother is too proud to put into practice.

I had been present for the bedding before Henry told everyone that we should go since he wanted it to be a private affair. I was jealous of my sister then; now the tables will be turned. The Queen will bow to the true daughter of York and the witch will have to as well or risk burning at the stake.

I can hear my mother calling me “whore”, mocking me for my “plain” looks. But I put them out of my head. Right now, all that matters is us. The way he looks at me is what you’d expect from a man whose hopes have been crushed too many times.

In me he will find a loving companion, someone who will never betray him or consider him less simply because he’s not the son of a witch who knows nothing more but cheap parlor tricks and a vicious King whose affairs nearly cost us all our lives.

* * *

**(EOY POV)**

_**Death is but a welcoming compared to the terrible but brief ordeal we must all go through before we become one with the Force.** _

_**~Chronicles of the Old Republic and the Empire and Beyond Vol II by Elizabeth Plantagenet.** _

Elizabeth wiped a tear from her face. Her baby was born dead. She had felt it squirm in her arms. Her mother told her she was fantasizing but it was not an illusion. The babe had whimpered. A low whimper but loud enough for her to hear it.

For the first time since they plotted the downfall of her lover, Lady Margaret and her mother partnered up to try and convince her to let her dead baby go. “He is not dead! He is alive. I felt it!”

“My dear I know how hard it is. I lost your brother Georgie when he was so young and I still mourn his death but you must go on for the sake of your family.”

“And what family is that you pathetic, lying witch!” Finally I let go of my son and throw him at her face then throw a lamp on her. It barely misses her. My mother, with her arrogant smirk keeps on her stoic pose.

“I am very disappointed in you Lizzie.”

“Get out you disgusting lying whore, bitch!” I scream and throw another thing at her. She leaves, Lady Margaret who isn’t too pleased either with my outburst tells me she is sorry.

This is truly ironic. The woman who has tried to control my life and be the defacto Queen is showing me more affection than my lying mother. God damn her. Trusting in her curses and in Melusina who had shown me a bright future for myself and my offspring had brought me nothing but pain.

Now the physician and midwives tell me that I will have no more children. I refuse to believe that.

“You must think for yourself. Your mother is correct. Life must go on for all of us. If not for the kingdom, then do it for yourself. It won’t do you any good to wallow in self pity. Trust me, I know.”

I believe her.

Henry comes. His face is a mask of fury. He is going to blame me for our dead baby. “Henry, I am so sorry. We are still young, we can have no more-“

“Say no more.” He holds his hand up. “If this is the Lord’s doing then it is marvelous before our eyes.” He said quoting from one of the psalms. But if it is not,” his gaze hardened, “then I shall see that you are rewarded with the same humility your mother has shown my brood.”

“Please, Henry this is not my fault. I promise you, we will have more.” I say standing up from bed and touching his arm but he looks at me in disgust.

“When you are well I will speak to you, until then, have a pleasant night my Queen.”

I scream. Curse my mother and curse the water goddess that imbued us with these powers! It should be me who consoles him. It should be me who sleeps next to him in the royal bed not that two-backstabbing-harlot!

What did I do wrong? I’ve always been obedient. I obeyed God’s and man’s commands. My mother told me to plot, I plotted. She told me to curse, I cursed. If there was anyone more filial than me I’d like to meet them.

This is what my sister has made of me. A beggar. Now I will have to depend on a man who will barely acknowledge my existence unless he has to. And my mother will no doubt continue to plot and plot until she reaps what she sowed.

And my brother … What will become of my darling brother, Richard, Duke of York? If my mother’s curses were that effective, it would be him wearing the crown and not Henry. And it would be me counseling, being his wife’s best friend instead of having to put up with my sister’s betrayal.

When night comes, I sing an old song my father taught me. He only had eyes for mother and my brother. But when he was absent, I was the center of attention. I was showed off before ambassadors and jealous courtiers and made fun of their ugly daughters. Nothing was denied to me. If there was a tournament, knights would show me their favors. If they didn’t, my father would dismiss them from court.

Now I have nothing to show for my beauty except an empty stomach.

* * *

**(Anakin POV)**

When I was little I used to dream of an ice dragon. My mother said to be careful. That was death and he only came to those whose time was near. Then she’d smile and laugh. It didn’t seem like it was a joke anymore.

Losing her had changed me. I could fix everything and get myself out of every tricky situation but when it came to my loved ones, sooner or later the ice dragon always showed up and I was powerless to stop him.

Padme is the greatest thing that ever happened to me. I teased her when I was nine years old that I would marry her one day. She laughed at me and called me a silly child. Who would have thought that my dreams would come true? That she’d become my wife and I’d feel complete.

I look down to my metallic arm. A painful reminder that I am never free of my duty to the Jedi and that blasted prophecy that commands I be their chosen one, the republic’s war symbol.

Hero Without Fear, I am called. After I passed the trials, children waiting to be chosen as padawans nearly beat each other up so they could get the chance to talk to me. I was their inspiration. “When I grow up I want to be a warrior just like you.” I was once like them too, eager to fulfill my wish of being a Jedi, beloved by everyone and looked up by those younger than me. But seeing how eager they were to be part of this war, sickened me.

I am not the Jedi I am supposed to be. I want more and I should have more but I also feel conflicted by seeing so many of my comrades die at the hands of the enemy. My former master and friend tells me that I should let go of my anger. “Hate their actions, not them.” But I can’t help it. I hate them and if it were up to me, I’d kill them all.

Padme stirs and I get closer. A shiver runs down her spine as the cold metal touches her naked back. The Separatists are responsible for what they did to me. They made me what I am.

Obi Wan and Yoda can preach about virtue all they want but I know what is best for the galaxy. Closing my eyes, I let myself be raptured by Morpheus. This time, the nightmares aren’t as bad as those I’ve had before when my mother still lived.


	2. You have to be strong

_" **When a mother loses a son, her world is over. When she loses both her son and her hopes for the kingdom, she is destroyed. Her faith is shaken and she has no more reason to live. Such was what happened to me when I lost my Henry. I thought that he would die of old age, cranky and complaining about everything like old men usually do. But no, he died when he was still in his prime. I wish that I could freely express myself, confess my sins to the galaxy but I cannot ...  
**_ _**Henry was my darling boy. I didn't get the chance to see him grow into the handsome young man he became when he defeated the usurper, Richard III. I cried when I saw him crowned. My chaplain said they were tears of joy but in reality they were tears of fear. Henry was in greater danger than before. Now everyone would look to dethrone him or worse, harm his loved ones ... I could barely stand seeing my son's body. Jasper had to remind me to keep my poise. This was the first Tudor King, I had to stay strong for my country ... But it was hard. I wanted my son back so badly. He deserved better ..."** _

_**~The Life and Death of Henry Tudor, the Seventh of His Name of England by Margaret Beaufort** _

**(Henry VII POV)**

Life is but a dream. Sooner or later you wake up and find that all of your troubles were inconsequential when compared to the larger game that is being played at every being’s expense. That game is of course, the one between the Jedi and the Sith. Two ancient enemies, to sides of the same coin.

One side determined that I should be King while the other wanted me to be its puppet. Before the latter became a certainty, I took my wife’s dagger, went down on my knees and prayed.

I was still praying, clutching the dagger tighter by the second, when the intruders arrived. I didn’t turn, I didn’t look. I was ready to meet my creator or rather as the Jedi would say, be one with the Force.

“We take what is ours.” The Separatist leader said.

Of course you do, thought I. Closing my eyes, I waited but his blow never came. I opened my eyes when I saw Cecily.

“You should have listened to your lady mother.” She said.

I gulped. “Why? Have you sold me over to yours?”

“Why would I do that? I promised you that the curse would be lifted. It has. I vowed that our sons and daughters would be Kings and Queens of this realm. They shall be but I never said anything about your well-being. Every beginning has an end and you have been living on borrowed time, Henry.”

“Indeed, I have but I still have more to give. Your sister will avenge my death.” She chuckled so did Lord Tyrannus. “You can laugh all you want. Elizabeth is the true heir of this realm and she will seek revenge. Vengeance runs in her blood. She is a Plantagenet just like you and she has the blood of gods flowing in her veins.”

“You’re a terrible poet but you are right about Melusina. She wasn’t a goddess though. Tell him.” She motioned to Darth Tyrannus.

Count Doku, a former Jedi smiled wickedly at me. “Melusina was the first of the Jedi who abandoned the Order. Such was her debauchery that the Jedi eliminated all mentions of her. Her sins were falling in love with mere terrestrials and killing his children so she could become more powerful. A powerful Force user but mortal nonetheless. Her spirit became more powerful as her descendants thirst for revenge grew. Your wife and her mother’s curse unleashed the last remnants of her wrath before it was destroyed by lady Cecily here.”

I felt more betrayed than I ever did. And far more lost than when I was at Brittany, not knowing if the next day would be my last. “How could you do that to your ancestor?”

“She was in my way. And you can’t kill what is already dead, you can only consume it and make it your strength or make it part of the Force. Melusina’s powers are now mine and I will have what was denied to me by my mother and sister.” She knelt in front of me. “Melusina’s only flaw was in the people she sacrificed. She thought she could save her strongest children by killing her weakest. That is not how it works. You have the kill the man who fathered them, the man who is holding them back and that man is you Henry.”

She got up and after she was handed Darth Tyrannus red saber, she ignited it and told him, “It is nothing personal. You were kinder to me than most, but I made a promise and I intend to keep it. Worry not, your legacy will live through me.”

I closed my eyes. I was thankful that my mother was away so she wouldn’t have to see her son, sprawled on the floor, clutching the only gift he had received from his wife.

She will still be devastated. No other woman has sacrificed more to see her son come home safe and become King of England than my dear lady mother. She does not deserve this. If anyone needs to die, it is me but not before my mother’s time has come.

My mother always said that if I died, she died. I begged God to give my mother the strength to endure, just as she always had because without her and Elizabeth, the realm was doomed.

**~o~**

It was funny. I always thought that dying would hurt. But when I opened my eyes I saw myself in the same room. Instead of Cecily and Darth Tyrannus there was Elizabeth.

I cleared my throat, not caring whether she’d hear me or not but I was curious as speaking to her before I left for good would have been nice.

She did hear me. Unlike her sarcastic remarks and vindictive smiles that had greeted me before, there was only sadness now.

“You are free to pursue your own destiny. Make it a good one, Liz. I know you can.” I said then turned my back. She cried for me. It was sweet to hear her care for me at last but I found myself no longer able to care. She saw me as beneath the dirt she walked on. Thought that I was an usurper. And I was, but so was her father, her uncle and lover, her saintly Richard and our ancestors who put an end to Anglo-Saxon England. The world was made of usurpers and monsters. I do not know a lot about the galaxy but given what I’d just witnessed, there is no doubt in my mind that it operated under the same rules.

For a moment when Liz screamed my name then told me how much she loved me, I was tempted to run into her arms but as soon as temptation came, it went.

 _I am sorry, Liz._ There are no do-overs in life. I had my chance to be great, I blew it. She had her chance as well, and she wasted it for listening to that vindictive harpy. Now she has to reap what they sowed. It will be up to her to fix what cannot be fixed and align herself to forces she once thought inferior.

* * *

 

**_“The Chronicles of the Rise and Fall of the Old Republic are an archaic form of story-telling. Most of you have no idea what I am speaking of since the system you have grown into has failed to educate you on the subtleties of basic rhetoric. The author of such books is a woman who lusted for power and thought herself better than her peers because of the sacred bloodline that ran in her veins. I should know because she and I share the same ancestor … Following the death of King Henry, Seventh of his Name, the realm was in disarray. People fought like dogs to elect a new sovereign. Lady Margaret believing her daughter-in-law was pregnant, wanted to appoint me but nobody listened to a proud woman, much less someone who was no friend of the old Republic and preferred that Earth stay neutral to the Galactic conflict. Before long, English politics became a spectacle with other world leaders becoming involved … It was decided that Princess Cecily of the most noble House of York should become the de facto Ruler. High Princess Cecily, Lady Governor of England, Ireland and other Isles of our Great Land of England was her official title. We were forced to bow to her. If she wept, we wept. If she was joyful, we pretended to be joyful too.”_ **

**_~Earth during the Clone Wars by Queen Dowager and Princess of York, Elizabeth Plantagenet, official Earth Historian._ **

**(EOY POV)**

I refused to bow to my sister. I cried mentally before I let sleep claim me for my husband. He would know what to do. My lady mother barely responds to my requests. Losing her son has been a traumatic experience.

I no longer bleed. My sister asked me last week if I do, knowing what the answer would be. I wanted to slap her so badly but the will to do so never came as the Old Republic officials behind her served me as a reminder that she was my superior and I but a mere servant.

My mother also refuses to accept this twisted reality. She is sure we are going to wake up and find this is all some cruel joke. I have to remind her that it isn’t. If we do not do something soon, Cecily will consume us all.

The Chancellor refused to hear my pleas when he visited me. I tried to make him see what my sister really was. A wolf in sheep’s clothing. Her pitiful smile and innocent look didn’t fool us. If he didn’t listen to me and my lady mother, then he’d soon find himself murdered as my late husband.

What was most humiliating was having to raise my glass to her fucking bastards. Her eldest, a boy named Arthur was blond haired, brown-eyed and fair skinned. He was what my little boy would have looked like if he hadn’t died when he was still in the womb. I remember Henry telling me that I’d enter confinement in the priory next to Winchester Cathedral. Winchester being the place where some believed Arthur’s mythical city of Camelot once stood, he wanted our firstborn to be named after the fabled Welsh King.

I agreed. It was my favorite legend as well and I was determined to make our union work so he’d forget about Cecily. Seeing her older bastard become Prince of Wales and paraded before foreign dignitaries drove me insane with jealousy.

I would also touch my womb before I closed my eyes, dreaming of the life that would never be, the children that I was not meant to have.

 _Henry I need you by my side to guide me._ I once told him that fear would not get things done but I was such a fool. Fear has helped my sister more than love ever did for me and my mother. She is mistress of this realm and as long as she lives, she is mistress of life and death as well.

 _Perhaps there is an afterlife where you and I can be at peace._ I think. It would be pleasant to go there someday but then I am suddenly reminded of Henry’s last words to me.

My mother refused to give up but she was tacky. It was obvious that Lovell was on her payroll and it wouldn’t be long before my sister had the Sith pay her a visit.

Tonight is no different than other nights. But reminiscing about the past has given me something to look forward. A man without a past cannot have a future. A woman without a past as her base has nothing left to fight for. I made a terrible mistake, I accept that but wishing to go back in time and undo what I did won’t solve anything. Henry was right, I have to be strong.

* * *

 

**(Anakin POV)**

I felt sad when I saw the Queen Dowager. She reminded Obi Wan of Satine. The two of them could never be. I had implied to my master that there were ways of making his dream come true without revealing the truth about me and Padme but he refused to heed my advice. Obi Wan was a Jedi through and through. Even after I was knighted by the Council, he still saw himself responsible for the entire order.

It wasn’t his responsibility, I told him. He owed nothing to anyone just as I didn’t owe anything to the Council. But Obi Wan was haunted by demons that I had no idea prior to our visit to Manddalore. Ashoka asked me if Obi Wan would ever let himself go and act like a normal human being.

I told her that was funny coming from a Togruta teenager who barely listened to a word I said. Now I know what Obi Wan meant by “I hope you have an apprentice just as yourself.” No, I don’t think Obi Wan will ever man up and face his demons head on. Not unless he is forced to. He is a prisoner of the Jedi Code as much as he is of them.

He fears that if he gives into them, he will become a failure. He is haunted by the Jedi council’s perception of his master. He wants to prove them wrong. I tell him he already has but in his mind there is always someone still thinking he is unready for whatever task is ahead.

Ashoka nudges my shoulder and points to the Queen Dowager as well. “I should not have come as your servant. It is demeaning. They are going to know you are the chosen one.”

She is right but then again they might not because this is Earth. This planet is primitive and hardly anyone has ever traveled on a big ship. Even **_if_** (and that’s a big if) someone recognizes me, they aren’t likely to voice their opinion in public.

“It could be worse Snips.” I say knowing she won’t like me calling her that here. “Now straighten up and refer to me as Lord, got it?”

Ashoka rolls her eyes. She hates the way everyone looked at her on their last visit and she hates the way everyone looks at her now. The few people we’ve met before are present and to them, I am still Lord Yog Nug.

“Lord Nug, it has felt like a long time since you came. And I see you still travel with your handmaiden. You should reconsider bringing her here. No one looks kindly on an alien species on holy soi.”

I wasn’t surprised. I bet they did not look kindly on anything that didn’t fit their standard of holy or beautiful. The Queen Dowager certainly did but she was a sad and reserved figure who hardly did anything except pray and give alms to the poor. She was a stark contrast to her younger sister, High Princess Cecily who danced, laughed and talked for hours on end.

“Shub Niggur can speak for herself. She comes in handy when nights get so lonely.”

They grinned to one another then left us alone. Ashoka looked at me with a look that said “really?”

“You are disgusting you know that?”

“Calm down Snips, it is not like we are sleeping together.”

“It doesn’t matter when every time they see another one of my species they will think back to us and go ‘oh remember that Sky guy who screwed around with his Togrutta sex slave? Seriously, Anakin? Couldn’t you have been more original. Scoring one with an alien chick, what terrestrial hasn’t fantasized about that before.”

“You take things too seriously, Snips. The sooner we get out of here, the better.” I told her, reminding her of our mission.

“That makes me feel so much better. At least you brought R2 with you this time.” She gestured down to R2 who had a hard time dispersing the crowd of noble and royal children who asked him all kinds of questions, including “can you dance?”

“Poor R2. You know what Sky guy, you are right. Being your imaginary sex slave is not so bad in comparison to being the mechanical jester of the English court.”

Ashoka and I went to R2’s rescue. R2 gave disgruntling beeps, telling us that he didn’t like being treated like a clown.

“Relax R2, we won’t be here long. It’s not so bad being the life of the party. You are a celebrity. They have never seen someone like you before.”

R2 was still annoyed but beeped happily at my last words. Obi Wan and the rest, including Padme, considered him a droid. I never did. To me he was a living being deserving of the same dignity as every other galactic individual.

We got tired of the fake smiles and we were about to retire to our chambers when the voice of the Queen Dowager stopped us.

“Lord Yog. It is great to see you again. Last time you came we barely had any time to get acquainted. It is a shame seeing as how my late husband, King Henry, would have loved to hear stories of your travels.”

“If Her Majesty wants, I can tell you all about my adventures after me and my handmaiden have had our good deserved rest.”

“Of course, I hope you enjoy your time here. My sister will receive a good word from me. She is always interested in outsiders’ wild stories.”

“Not all of my stories are wild. Some are quite boring.” I say and she smiles at this. There is so much sadness coming from her, and while she is good at pretending to be the happiest woman on Earth, her mental shields aren’t strong enough for me to overcome.

She wears a aquamarine gown with a red and white rose necklace, studded with rubies and diamonds. It is the Tudor rose, the one that symbolizes the union of Lancaster and York. It is the motif that was created right after her marriage to Henry Tudor.

I see images of her kissing her husband, crying over his death. She still loves him and the thought of seeing her sister’s royal bastard as King with her as his Governor, rankles her. Yet her anger is not enough to overcome her sadness.

This is a woman who refuses to let go of her pride and keeps a dignified pose. She smiles in spite of being humiliated by her younger sister and chastised by her scheming mother.

“Do yourself a favor my lord and if you can send a message to the chancellor.”

Perhaps it wasn’t only her pride that defined her but her intelligence. Few people could see through my mask. This visit just got more interesting.

“My lady hasn’t been done justice. My sources said you were as your motto, humble and penitent.”

“Hidden and patient is my true motto. Don’t be fooled by appearances, Skywalker.” She said lowering her voice as several courtiers passed us by. “I am exactly where I should be.”

She turned to her sister then back to me. “Do not forget to tell the chancellor of my plight. Tell him that I have no reason to lie.” Before her sister came to greet us, the Queen Dowager said lastly, “Come to my chambers on the morrow before everyone is awake. I will give you a letter so you can deliver to the chancellor and if possible the Council.”

I nodded then bowed my head one last time. The High Princess and Governor of England was far less amicable. Envy, anger … These were feelings that the Jedi taught us to suppress. Master Yoda said that they were a pathway to the dark side. Obi Wan said that the dark side was like a forest. Once you enter, you are unable to escape.

Why would a young woman like her choose such a path? I was aware that the terrestrials were far more savage than any other species on the galaxy, but alien and human. But surely, even these savages had a conscience.

* * *

_**"We forget about the apprentices. The second class citizens of the Jedi Order. The young boys and girls who ensured the triumph of the Jedi ten times over the dreaded Separatists. These people get glossed over and called unimportant. Our society places value on the heads of government, the top officials, conveniently forgetting the men and women who made their success possible. This is not my position. During the Clone Wars there was one apprentice who was everything: Brave, bold, strong, caring, and most of all, loyal. Her name was Ashoka Tano. She was Anakin Skywalker's apprentice. The man the galaxy came to admire and fear after his transformation into Darth Vader. She was a daring woman. That much has already been established. But what about her flaws? And good lord, she had many ...  
One of her greatest fears was death. Death is a natural part of life, Master Yoda told his pupils. But living so long had made him apathetic to people and the attachments that short-lived beings like humans had for others. Death was something that can come to the strongest of us. Ashoka refused to admit she was afraid. She was also afraid to admit that her master had demons of his own and like any pupil enchanted with Anakin Skywalker's antics, she refused to set him straight ... That became her undoing."** _

**_~The Life of the Unrecognized by Elizabeth of York, edited by General Organa_ **

**(Ashoka POV)**

I didn’t care for this planet. I didn’t like it. We had given these idiots technology. We had taken their best aboard our spaceships and sent them back with the knowledge of how to build their own spaceships and they still distrusted us!

The way that Queen Dowager and the Countess of Richmond saw me was one of those experiences I hope I never remember.

Never in my life have I ever felt so inferior. My master told me before I went to my bedroom not to mind their looks but I can’t help it. If the Jedi Council and the Old Republic wasn’t so desperate to gain allies on far distant worlds that were more barbaric than the most criminal sectors in the outer rim, we wouldn’t be in this mess.

Sky guy better not succumb to that pretty face. The Queen Dowager had nothing to recommend her except her beauty. But beauty didn’t last. Soon she will get old and probably fat -if the rumors about her father are true.

I can’t help but giggle at the thought of her with a big stomach and a plump face with her chin so disfigured that it covers all of her neck. I am sure Master Skywalker will be attracted to that.

Perhaps I should tell Padme. Anakin has feelings for her. My master can’t lie to me. He loves her and although the Jedi forbid such attachments, I know that it is impossible to keep those two apart.

Love. It is a concept I hope I never become familiar with. The Governor of this Isle said that there is popular saying in this planet. It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. For me, it isn’t. Seeing how much it hurts Master Skywalker to be away from his true love and how much Obi Wan tries to hide his feelings for the Duchess of the Mandalore, I don’t want ever to experience that feeling.

R2 comes into my bedroom and beeps. I ask him what did Anakin say. R2 tells me that Anakin told him he distrusted these terrestrials but he’d go to the Queen Dowager’s chambers to see what was so controversial about the letter she wanted him to give to Chancellor Palpatine.

“Sky guy better not fall for a shallow royal. Senator Amidala would be quite disappointed.”

R2 agrees with me.

“You think he has feelings for her?”

R2 spins his dome head, and sends a series of beeps that tells me he doesn’t. “You know him so well R2. I often wonder if you will record everything we do. It would be nice for someone to hear our story long after we are gone.”

Death was something that Jedi weren’t supposed to think about. They had no ego, no pride. They were guardians of peace and justice, perfect soldiers, perfect killing machines. But death had become an unavoidable thought in our lives thanks to this war. How could I not think about it when my friends were dying on a regular basis?

Most of them had families. Families who wept for them and turned to the Separatists after they were told of their deaths, choosing to blame the Jedi instead of their sons and daughters’ assassins.

It was madness but it was an understandable madness. And every day Ashoka found herself questioning the Jedi. Not just their code but their role as peace keepers.

If I were to die today or tomorrow nobody other than Anakin would care. I had no other family but him. I was taken by the Jedi Order when I was very young. Master Yoda thought saw promise in me. It was him who assigned me to Anakin when nobody else would take me.

I have made peace with the concept of death but it still scares me. I do not want to feel inferior but I do. And interacting with these stuck up royals today reminded me of how insignificant I am. I want to be remembered, mourned and my achievements recognized by a large populous. It is selfish but I don’t care. I deserve it after everything I’ve done for the old republic.

I give R2 a small smile. “Will you tell the story to a new generation?”

R2’s eye went up and down. The closest thing to a nod that I’d get from this little droid.

I feel slightly better. Anakin’s story also deserves to be told. He is the Hero Without Fear. The Chosen One. I know how much he hates those labels, but he can’t deny that he has inspired many young people in the galaxy, including pupils at the Jedi Temple who look up to him. He is the face of the Jedi. Without him, the Old Republic wouldn’t have won so many battles or convince many systems to switch sides.

It’d be a pity if they turned his back on Sky guy too.

“Time for truth, R2. Can you answer me with the truth now? Do you like this planet?”

R2 shook his dome head.

Ashoka sighed. “I can’t wait to get out of this sink hole too. At least you have kids ogling you because they think you are cute.”

R2 didn’t like being called cute. His beeps told me that he was a serious droid. An agent of the Jedi and the old republic.

“I am joking. I am joking! Though you gotta admit though, they do love you.”

R2 reluctantly did then left her room. Anakin better know what he was doing. We weren’t the only spies on this planet. For all I know it could be a trap.

If this Queen had something up her sleeve, she better be prepared because Sky guy is not the kind of man to be tricked so easily. And he has me.


	3. Hidden and Patient

_**"Anakin Skywalker was more than a master to his apprentice. The two were one in the same. If fate had been kinder, the two would not have gone their separate ways and relied on one another to prevent their downfalls ..."  
** _ _**~Death of hope, third edition, by Elizabeth Plantagenet, official Earth Historian. Foreword by Meredith Luxom** _

**(R2-D2 POV)**  

“What did she want to talk about?” Ashoka asked Anakin casually.

“Do not start Snips. She didn’t do anything. She wanted to talk to me about the so called Sith threat. She thinks that her sister is loyal to the Sith.”

Ashoka couldn’t help but laugh.

Humans are truly queer individuals. Their attitude is out of place and in C-3PO’s words, they were overly sentimental beings. And yet here I am, recording everything they do.

“They wanted to keep her family from achieving power so they allied with her uncle then she set her sights on him so they turned on him and allied with Henry. Now …”

“They want to bring her and her mother down for good and they ally with her sister.” Ashoka finished for him.

“I don’t get it though. It doesn’t make any kriffin sense.”

“Language. Obi Wan might burst into our chamber door any minute. You never know.”

“Very funny Sky guy but I doubt it. Supposing that what the Queen Dowager says is true, why in the world would she contact you when she can send a message to the Chancellor when he visits Earth?”

“Because he is not fond of her family.” Anakin answered her.

“I can’t blame him.” Ashoka said. “It would have been easier if the Woodvilles hadn’t made too many promises to the Separatists. The Old Republic wants to try the old Queen Dowager and the only thing keeping them from doing it is her younger daughter. If I were her, I would treat my daughter less like a pariah.”

“But you are not her, Snips, much to my good fortune. The Queen Dowager has forsaken her place at court while her daughter still has at self pity.”

“Is that all she has? It is pathetic.”

 "Why? She is a woman who's been hurt. Give her some sympathy. A little sympathy is essential to the Jedi life." Anakin advised his apprentice.

"It would be if she was a victim but she isn't." Ashoka said.

Humans, C-3PO's words were once again on my mind. They do not know what they want.

It was not just humans. Living beings in general were complicated and it is this complexity that attracted me to it. Anakin is my friend, so is Padme. I am their safe keeper and despite what Ashoka and Obi Wan think of me, I do care about them and I am determined to keep them safe. I record everything so long after they are gone, people will know about their extraordinary feats, and come to appreciate them as I do now.

* * *

 

**(Padme POV)**

When Anakin came back, I heard all the sad details about his mission on Earth. I am truly saddened for the Queen Dowager of England but I cannot afford Anakin goes on a wild goose chase in the name of a woman whose growing more paranoid by the second.

I try telling Anakin that this woman might be taking advantage of his sympathy for her but he doesn't want to listen. He genuinely feels empathetic to her plight. It worries me. I have heard sordid details about this woman and her family.

I hope that Anakin comes to his senses and that the poor Queen Dowager sees reason. Whatever she feels in regards to her younger sister, she is family and a family in disarray does no good to anyone.

* * *

**(EOY POV)**

Anakin Skywalker. Hero without Fear. I have not heard of him in months. I have thought about giving up but I think back to the promise I made to Henry. Lady Margaret has gotten better. She has stared to visit court again and has donned her previously black robes for expensive ones. At times, it truly feels like things are back to normal but then I remember Henry's absence, especially at night when I wake up, drenched up in cold sweat, assaulted by nightmares and terrible memories, and I realize that I am still alone.

I tried so hard to appease my mother. I was the apple of my father's eye. I was his favorite. My mother's brightest jewel in her chest. Now I can barely look at myself in the mirror without screaming and crying 'why did you do this?' Every night, before I close my eyes, I beg god to take me or at the very least, go back in time when I was a child. I would have never consorted with those two hags, my grandmother and mother. I would have never cursed my line nor my aunt, Anne Neville. I would have said nothing and done nothing. 

So many years lost, trusting people I should have never trusted and cursing loved ones. I didn't know what I had until it was taken from me by my treacherous sister.

It should have been her I cursed. If I could curse anyone again, it would be her. She has done nothing but cause me immense pain. Seeing her and Henry kiss, making love after I tried to entice Henry back to my bed, rankled me. But nothing upset me more than seeing my dead husband and his ghost, begging me to be strong.

It is so easy for men to stay strong. Not much is required of them, but women have to walk an extra mile and most of the time it is just for their reputation's sake. 

The worst offense Cecily had done to me was showing off her youngest children. When the little Prince wasn't with her, it was the others. All of them were exact copies of Henry. His eyes, his mouth, even his curly hair. I wanted to tear those locks from their perfectly formed heads and throw them in my sister's face. 

Those were the children I had promised Henry. I was supposed to be their mother! "I am not going to let myself be beaten." My sister thinks that beauty is all I have but she is wrong. Behind this mask, lies the daughter of Edward IV, and as a member of the noble House of York, I will wage war against my enemies and win.


	4. Into the unknown.

_**"Padme Amidala was a dear friend of mine. Someone I trusted. Secretly, I envied her. A few of us knew about her secret marriage to the Jedi, Anakin Skywalkker. Anakin was the hero with no fear, a man who everyone admired and considered the chosen one. He was also a man who had a large following and like so many great men, was haunted by demons that he couldn't control. I was the first one to warn Padme about him but as usual with idealists, she did not listen to me. Every day I look back and wonder what could I have done differently to prevent such a tragedy?"  
** **~The twilight of the Old Republic by Mon Mothma** _

(Padme POV)

I wasn't going to wait for Anakin to tell me the truth. I looked into the small desk he kept in our chambers and found copies of letters the Queen Dowager, Elizabeth of York had written to him. This is ridiculous. Poor woman. I really feel bad for her but I have no time to let myself feel pity for someone who as far as everyone is concerned, is responsible for her own misery. I destroy the copies.

Anakin is mad that I did but he comes to see way the things I do when I remind him that he has made a commitment to the Jedi Order and to men.

Anakin leaves shortly after. His mind no longer lingers on the Queen Dowager. He feels sorry for her. We all do. But my opinion of her will remain the same until the day I die. She has made her own bed and must lie in it.

* * *

__**"Power. It is the thing that motivates men and women to behave like beasts. Imbeciles crave it but don't know what to do with it. Men and women whose blood is noble grow envious when they've never had a taste it and also crave it, but like the imbeciles following them, once they have it, they don't know what to do with it. Only a wise man or woman knows what to do with it. But that being is usually the one who least craves it. The one who is forced to raise arms to preserve his or her own existence. Unfortunately, in a world filled with beasts, such a being when he came into power, his life was cut short by his concubine.  
Henry, the Seventh of his name, only mistake was in falling prey to the great seducer. It is said that his ghost still haunts the hall of Richmond Palace ... Those of us who inhabit this world once called Earth know better than to believe in tall tales. When Henry died, so did his dynasty. While his legacy survived in his offspring, it was really the women closest to him who kept it alive."  
~The Last Terrestrial Legacy by Elizabeth of York, official Earth Historian**

**(EOY POV)**

My sister commands me to write. I am almost tempted to use my powers against Arthur. Dear, sweet Arthur. I still dream of the future that could have been. A beautiful boy, perfectly made with all his five toes on each foot and five fingers on each hand. He smiles at me and calls me mama and behind him are the other tots that would have followed.

It is not fair. Arthur should have been my boy. And what hurts the most is that he takes after Henry. Oh God, Henry. He would have been so proud. That boy doesn't know into the great House he's been born into.

My mother always told me that mistresses come and go but it is the wives that stay. "They" she'd tell me "are their spouse's heart's keeper." But that is not true with me. I am seen as a nuisance. An object of pity at court.

I shut the giggles from her little Prince of Wales. He pulls on my robe and I stop, looking down at him. "Yes?" I ask in the most pleasant manner, masking my true feelings behind a mask of sweetness.

Cecily is not amused. She doesn't believe my act for one second. She and the yeoman of the guard are ready to strike me down but to my relief they do not when the little tot does something that drives away all the hatred in my heart for him and his siblings. He extends his arms and begs me to carry me. I do and place him on his lap. 

"You are fair to look upon. You were daddy's wife, correct? Queen Elizabeth the fair."

"I was his wife but where did you get the idea for such a name?" He giggles and whispers in my ear, "It's my own creation. You are beautiful. My sis and I whisper to one another, we call you the milk and honey princess. I prefer the White Princess because you are so pretty."

"That is really sweet, Your Highness but I am simply auntie Lizzie to you."

He shakes his head. "No, you are my Queen and when I become King, you will help me rule."   
I dare not look to Cecily. She must be furious. She was always good at masking her emotions but between us sisters, it is impossible to mask them now. I put him down and tell him, "We shall see. But for now, let your white princess finish what your mommy wants her to do."

"Yes, Queenie!" He says, happy he's found another nickname and seeing my smile, his smile widens. "I am going to tell my sis you like it then I am going to tell Eddie what you told me."

"You must excuse my son. He is too reckless. I am afraid that he is too much as his father. It is a good thing he has us Yorks to influence him." Cecily tells me as I go back to write.

"Yes, he is fortunate to have Yorkist blood running through his veins but I also think it is a good thing that he is of the House of Tudor. His father won the crown through his wit and his mother's devotion. If he continues to take after him, he will make a wise king."

"Perhaps but men can be so dim-witted at times that it is a miracle that Henry wasn't fooled earlier. He did love you though. The last words from his lips were for you. One would have though, they would have been with me. Such a sad affair."

"Henry's legacy lives on through your offspring. If you spent as much time with them, you'd see they are just like him." I say. I always passed the royal nursery, curious to see what they did. Every time I felt like my heart was about to melt, I turned away and returned to my chambers to write. I didn't want to be enchanted by those brats but alas, the Prince of Wales has changed all that.

"Careful there sister. Arthur might be enchanted with you but he doesn't know yet what you did. Imagine what he will do once he finds out the things you did to his father."

"No worse than what you did to him." I tell her boldly, my gaze still focused on the piece of parchment before me. "Shall we continue?"

Cecily goes on to dictate her letters of state to foreign ambassadors, including the galactic senators that will visit us by the end of this year. I am her secretary, her reign's historian and yet, for the first time since Henry died, I don't feel too burdened by it.

* * *

_**(Padme POV)** _

My father once told me about a collective intelligence that used to inhabit Naboo. They were a race beings that were very old. Older than the Gungans whom my ancestors drove under water. These were called the Celestials. One of them fell in love with a man from a far away land that she brought to Naboo. After he betrayed her, she shrieked. Her shrieks drove his youngest children insane. To further hurt him, she took them with her and drowned the three of them underwater. He and their eldest survived but when they returned home, everyone shunned them.

It is just a story but serves as a cautionary tale that love is not always as beautiful as fairy tales make it out to be. When Anakin asked me if I was an angel, I blushed. I had been called beautiful but never flattered in such a manner. I thought he was funny but it turns out that his flattery was not simple flattery but genuine love. A kind of love, my father would say, which was the purest one in the universe.

Lately though, I wonder if our love is truly pure. Anakin has been having dreams. I wish he could be honest with me but he tells me that it is nothing to be concerned about. Tonight is no different. He says that he is worried that the war might be lost. "It will not. We have hope and the Jedi have you. As long as there is light, the old Republic will remain strong," I say, although with not as much conviction as I had before. The Old Republic does not stand for what it once stood and with the chancellor being granted more emergency powers, I dread to think what will happen if and when this is war is over, he doesn't leave his post.

"Ashoka thinks we can do anything but she senses that something is wrong too. The Jedi believe that there is a stronger darkness surrounding us. They still don't trust me enough to tell me of their visions."

"You are a Jedi Knight. They will. And if they do not, you must continue to prove yourself to them." I tell him. He nods then kisses me. It feels hollow but after a while, that feeling disappears when he takes me into his arms and reminds me that as long as we are together, there is no force on this galaxy that can tear us apart.

 


End file.
